Oreo Cookie Cookies

An oreo is a cookie. An oreo in a cookie?

Seriously people; genius pure genius. I'm loving these new batch of interesting kitschy cookies and cakes that I've been seeing lately; they make me really, really happy. Basically this cookie is good... and large! As if good wasn't good enough (haha) but they are LARGE and good, double score!

These are choc full of cookie goodness, chewy interior, crispy interior and gooey chocolate. Really what more could you ask for. Although these babies are yummy, I must say, I don't think I'll ever find cookies as good as these two: here and here. Mmmm cookies.

Oreo Cookie Cookies

Yields: 20 - 30 cookies

Original recipe here.

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tbsn. vanilla

1 egg + 1 yolk

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

20 oreos, crushed

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. Cream together the melted butter and sugars until well blended. Beat in vanilla, egg, and yolk until light and creamy. Mix in sifted ingredients until blended. Add crushed ores and beat on low for a few seconds. Stir in chocolate chips then drop cookies 1/4 cup at a time onto prepared cookie sheets, 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 - 17 minutes or until edges are lightly toasted. Cool for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Chewy Matcha Chip Cookies

I did the unthinkable. I still can't believe I did it; something magical, something so beautiful I thought it only existed in dreams. I made matcha chips. Yes, yes I love tea. Blah blah blah, I say it so many times I don't think I need to say it again. I'm always searching for new ways to get tea into my baked goods and people, I have struck the tea-in-baked-goods gold!

I was inspired on a day of boredom to create such goodness. I've recently seen Nutella being made into chips, which of course, I plan on making soon as well - I mean, come on, how could I not? With the last bit of my matcha, I decided to mix it into some melted white chocolate and voila! Matcha chips, literally in 10 minutes. It... could... not... be... simpler! 

Kermit, you were surely wrong. It is very easy being green - especially when you are as lovely as Matcha. I mean come on with that stunning color! Of course, I had to toss these into these a chewy cookie batter and then nom, nom, nom on them as if my life depended on it! Oy vey... such is the life of a baker.


About the matcha chips, I only had 1 tablespoon of matcha powder left, so that's what I added to my melted white chocolate. After they had hardened, and I popped one in my mouth, the matcha flavor was not as distinct as I had wanted them to be, so in the recipe, I upped the amount to 2 tablespoons. Although, after being baked into the cookies, the matcha flavor was a bit more prominent - score! But next time, I still would double the matcha since a "pow" of matcha flavor is highly welcomed.

The cookie dough in all of its wispy, lovely goodness:

A celebration of GREEN!

Chewy Matcha Chip Cookies

Yields: 24 - 30 cookies

Highly adapted from here.

For the cookies

2 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 tbsn. strong-brewed green tea

2 cups matcha chips

For the matcha chips:

2 cups white chocolate chips

2 tbsn. matcha powder

To make the matcha chips, carefully melt the white chocolate over a double boiler, making sure not to burn it. Once smooth, whisk in the matcha powder until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe into 'chips' onto a piece of foil. Allow to harden completely, about 1 hour or you can speed this up in the freezer.

To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until very smooth and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and green tea. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in the matcha chips carefully. Roll rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, then place on the prepared cookie sheet, about 1 1/2" apart. Use your palm to press them down slightly. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to cool completely on a rack.

Rice Krispies Cookies

I've been on this major cookie rant recently. I used to love all things cupcakes (I still do), but right now, for me, it's all about cookies! One day, I just had this idea... like, literally, it just popped into my head almost exactly like how you see it on the silver screen, lightbulb and all. I thought, why not make 'rice krispies' cookies? I would roll them in rice krispies and stick toasty marshmallows on them, just like the smores cookies (which are one of my favorite cookies). 

First, I thought I would press them into a square pan, bake them, then slice them into squares  - an homage to the original rice krispie square. At the last minute I decided to bake them as traditional cookies, but I might try the squares another time. So, the result?

AMAZE-BALLS! Really, because it's not just amazing, it's amaze-balls. I have never been prouder of myself! These cookies were chewy and soft and had the crispy texture from the rice crispies and the delicious sweetness and chewiness from the toasted marshmallows. Everyone who tried them fell in love, and I think you will too if you try these! My only strife would be that the cookies were a little too soft, so they didn't hold their structure well. I tried a cookie base that had pudding mix in it, so I think next time I will cut the pudding mix amount in half or remove it all together. 

Rice Krispies Cookies

Yields: 15 large cookies

Adapted from here.

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsn.) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 3.4 oz. package of instant vanilla pudding (I recommend cutting this in half)

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup rice krispies cereal

1 cup mini marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Stir together the flour and baking soda in a separate bowl, set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in the pudding mix until well blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. When smooth, slowly add in the flour mixture, make sure it is well incorporated. Use a large ice cream scoop to drop the dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, about 3 - 4 per cookie tray. Use your palm to slightly press the cookies down, then press 1 tbsn. of rice krispies onto and around each cookie. Bake for 4 minutes, remove from the oven, then press 6 - 8 marshmallows on each cookie. Bake for another 4 minutes until the marshmallows are slightly toasty and the cookie is golden brown. Let the cookies cook further on the hot cookie sheets on your counter for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes

I think that a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie is one of the most comforting things in the world. I didn't have a mother who would bring me a warm tray of cookies and milk whenever I had a bad day or just because I was a good girl - not saying that's a bad thing though! I guess I never knew what I was missing, and I kind of just do that for myself now ;)

These are basically the love child of my obsession with cupcakes + my obsession with chocolate chip cookies. I think my babies are pretty cute, don't you?

I mean visually, these cupcakes are pretty stunning. Audibly, they're pretty stunning too. I mean, come on, if someone said to you, "Would you like a chocolate chip cookie cupcake?," how could you in your right mind say no or even hide the fact that saliva is dripping down your chin? These cupcakes are pretty spectacular taste-wise as well. Anything brown sugar is all kinds of right in my mind! I omitted the original cookie dough center in the recipe since I heard it was too sweet, but the cupcake this way was perfect.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes

Yields: about 12 cupcakes

Original recipe here.

For the brown sugar cupcakes:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 1/3 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)

For the cookie dough frosting:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 + 1/8 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup flour

large pinch of salt

1 1/2 tbsn. milk

2 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mini chocolate chips, for decoration (optional)

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake tin with liners and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl, stir to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake tin, about 2/3 full. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour. To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled dough mixture.

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla until smooth and well blended. Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.

Cookies & Cream Kiss Cookies

I am about to tell you something about me that you may or may not like. Ok, here goes... I, Michelle, love Hershey's Cookies & Cream Candy Bars. Some of you might have read that statement and said, huh? That's normal, cause they are delicious! Another handful of you might be slightly disgusted that I'd love something so artificial and overly-sweet. The thing is, I love a wide spectrum of things  - varying from totally organic and healthy to downright 100% artificial and artery clogging. The stomach wants what it wants. 

Well these cookies are certainly something I love. They are, and this is supported by scientific fact and empirical studies of course, the most unhealthy cookies on earth! They contain oreos, which I've heard have enough fat in them to keep you alive for three days on a deserted island and Hershey's Cookies & Cream Candy Bars. Oh, I forgot... they have cream cheese in them too... triple bypass ftw! 

But, these are some mighty delicious cookies. My favorite part is how they stay soft for days and eating them straight out of the oven is like heaven, I swear! Gooey, melty, delicious. In moderation, I think my body could handle these every so often ;)

Cookies & Cream Kiss Cookies

Yields: about 2 dozen cookies

Adapted from here. Inspired by this.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup cream cheese, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 cups coarsely chopped oreos

cookies and cream kisses (about 24)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine the butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer and cream until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and egg. Cream for 3 minutes more, scraping the sides to ensure everything is well mixed. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and mix until combined. Fold in the chopped oreos. This dough is very fluffy and soft, do not be alarmed. When rolling the dough, greasing your hands with cooking spray helps! Place the sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll the cookie dough into balls, then roll them in the sugar, and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes or until the cookies crack along the tops - be sure not to over bake. As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, press a cookies and cream kiss into the middle of the cookie. Let the cookies finish cooking on the cookie sheet for about 3 minutes on your countertop, then remove to a wire rack to cool.

Liliko'i (Passion Fruit) Bars

{Things I love}

peeling oranges close to your body so that you smell fresh and zesty all day.

new blog lovin': cooking after five.

pinterest.

everything à la mode.

thought catalog.

this song.

passion fruit.

when something doesn't come out as expected, but is perfect nonetheless... case in point, these ooey gooey liliko'i bars.

I've loved passion fruit for some time now, but for the life of me, I haven't been able to get my hands on any! I've scoured specialty markets, ethnic markets, farmer's markets. Nowhere. Not one to be found. When I was in Hawaii, although it wasn't passion fruit season, passion fruit things were everywhere - in sodas, candies and more. 

Anyways, I was strolling around Wholesome Choice with my sister one day after a nice gym session and there it was, glowing in the frozen foods section: Goya passionfruit puree. Win win win. I had no idea what I was going to do with it at the time, but I had to get my grubby paws on it nonetheless. 

My sister loves lemon bars so I had the idea of making passion fruit bars. What a lovely idea that was! It's your basic combination of buttery shortbread and sweet-tart-silky curd with a healthy dose of powdered sugar. I used a basic lemon bar recipe and just switched out the lemon juice for passion fruit puree.

At first, I thought I really screwed up these bars. Like the idiot that I am, having trouble with getting the bars out of the pan, I inverted the bars onto a cutting board without the slightest thought that sticky curd would stick to a cutting board... yeah, I really wasn't thinking. But curd being curd, I just scraped it off and did my best to re-spread it onto the shortbread base. I let it set a little in the freezer, then topped it off with some powdered sugar. Crisis averted.

The curd was very... curd-y, if that helps to explain it at all. I thought it would stiffen up some more, but it was still too liquidy for me to possibly cut clean squares. Even the shortbread base was a bit too delicate when I first tried to cut it. In the end, all of this was a lesson in patience for me. After letting the bars rest in the fridge for a good day, they turned out perfect. I used a hot knife to re-cut clean edges, topped them with a bit more powdered sugar and they were like sunshine you could tuck in your pocket!

Oh, and another thing I love. When friends (aka D) love what I love to do:

Liliko'i/ Passionfruit Bars

Yields: 9 squares

Adapted from here.

For the shortbread base:

10 tbsn. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tbsn. powdered sugar

2 tbsn. sugar

1 1/4 cups flour

For the lemon curd topping:

4 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup passion fruit puree

4 tbsn. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tbsn. powdered sugar, for dusting

To make the base, place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 F. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the sugars, then add the butter and cream until light and fluffy. Add half of the flour, mix to combine, then add the rest and combine until mostly incorporated (it will still look a bit crumbly). Pat the dough into a greased 8x8" pan and use a fork to prick it all over. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and the top is pale golden but not brown. Set aside.

To make the passionfruit curd topping, set up a strainer on top of a bowl; set aside. in a heavy saucepan, beat the egg yolks and sugar until well blended. Stir in the passionfruit puree, butter and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes until thickened and resembles a hollandaise sauce. It should thickly coat the back of a wooden spoon but still be liquid enough to pour - a candy thermometer should read 196 degrees. Do not allow it to boil or else it will curdle. Once thickened, pour the mixture through the strainer to remove any coarse residues. Lower the temperature of the oven to 300 F. Pour the passionfruit curd over the shortbread base and bake for 10 minutes. Once baked, cool the bars until completely cooled, then refrigerate the bars for 30 minutes or longer before cutting it into bars. Once cut, dust some powdered sugar on top and enjoy!

Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'd like to introduce to you, my new love! Impossibly soft pumpkin cookies kissed with the perfect amount of chocolate.

I've heard everyone rave about Joy the Baker's soft pumpkin cookies. I made these cookies months ago, but haven't had the chance to post them until now! It wasn't even technically fall yet, and I had already pulled out my pumpkin puree and fall spices! I love the fall, with its beautiful light and chance to cuddle up in bundles of coats and knitted scarves.I slightly adapted the recipe by substituting whole wheat flour for the all purpose and by reducing the sugar and oil. It did nothing, and I mean NOTHING, to the taste of these babies. That's what is so great about all things pumpkin; it's so forgiving! The cookies were still incredibly moist and with the chocolate chips, the sugar wasn't even missed. So basically, when you munch on these monstrous cookies, there's no need to feel any bit of shame. Just let that pure joy wash all over you!

Soft Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields: about 16 large cookies

Slightly adapted from here.

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper, set aside. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color. Next, mix in the oil,

pumpkin and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the flour to incorporate. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Using an ice cream scoop (1/4 cup size), scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2 inches apart. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds. Bake until tops feel firm and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 16 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.